The Wildlife Habitat Grant Program is an initiative of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation District's Yard by Yard program and Okies for Monarchs. This grant provides a voluntary, incentive-based payment to reimburse participants for native plant purchases used in creating new wildlife habitat benefiting insects and birds. Two wings up to the Kirkpatrick Foundation for funding our first year of this program.

2025 GRANT TIMELINE

• Application Deadline: March 31, 2025
• Awardees Announced: Early May, 2025
• Habitat Project Completion: June 30, 2025
• Awards Distributed: Aug-Sept, 2025

REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION

• Applicants must be certified in the Yard by Yard or Grounds by Grounds programs, and adhere to the guidelines of those programs. If you are not already certified, click here to apply.
  • The Wildlife Habitat Grant program is funding that participants of the Grounds by Grounds and Yard by Yard can apply for. If your project is not already certified by those programs, you can get started by applying for one of those two program that best fits your property. Yard by Yard is for private residences and Grounds by Grounds is for business, schools, parks, and other public spaces! In short, the Grounds by Grounds and Yard by Yard projects is a yard certification program that recognizes people that implement conservation practices on their property, for example having a pollinator garden or making your own compost.
• Projects must be located in Oklahoma, Canadian or Cleveland County, Oklahoma.
• Participants must provide a completed W-9 and sign a funding agreement before project commencement.
• Project area must consist of at least 100 square feet of new wildlife habitat and should address concerns of native wildlife habitat primarily in the form of insect and bird species.
• Award rate is $525 per 100 sq ft with a minimum of 100 sq ft and maximum of 1,000 sq ft per project.
• Project areas must be free of any inorganic or potentially harmful pesticide use. This includes herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.
• Installation of plants must occur in spring 2025 after awards are announced and before June 30. Plants installed outside of these time frames will not be eligible for a financial award.
• Plants must be planted at a minimum of one (1) native plant every two (2) feet and consist of:
  • At least three (3) native blooming wildflowers for each growing season (Spring, Summer, Fall) per 100 sq. ft. (totaling nine plants).
  • At least three (3) native pollinator host plant species per 100 sq. ft.
  • At least one (1) native woody species (tree or shrub) per project.

• No chemical pesticides or herbicides in habitat to ensure a safe environment for pollinators.
• Upon completion, selected participants must submit receipts for native plant purchases and register their new wildlife habitat with Okies for Monarchs. Grants cannot be put towards the purchase of tools or equipment, staff or contracted time.
  

INFORMATIONAL WEBINARS
Have questions? Sign up to attend a free informational webinar or send an email to yardbyyardproject@gmail.com.

• 12 pm, March 4, 2025 - Register Here

HOW TO PLAN YOUR GARDEN

• Tips for Planning Your Garden
• What to Plant guide organized by bloom period
• Where to Buy - local native plant vendors that provide safe, pesticide-free plants
• Planting requirements and example matrix:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Do the plants have to be fully grown upon project completion? No, plants to not need to be fully grown, but they must be visible and identifiable.
• Would expanding an existing garden count towards this? Yes, expanding existing gardens/habitat does qualify.
• Do plants purchased prior to signing a funding agreement count towards this project? No. Plants must be purchased after signing a funding agreement.
• I planted seeds last fall. Would those count towards this project? No. Only new habitat projects that commence after signing a funding agreement and are completed by June 30, 2025 qualify for this project.
• What is 100 sq. ft.? A few example sizes of 100 sq. ft. would be a canopy tent that is commonly used at farmers markets (10' x 10'), a bathroom with tub/shower, or half of a standardized parking spot (10'x20').